Newport Beach : Group Mobilizing to Oppose Tax Plan

Anti-tax forces are beginning to mobilize as the city prepares for a November advisory vote on one of the most expensive public land acquisitions ever in Orange County.

Since announcing the $58-million proposal two months ago, the 2,000-member Newport Conservancy has dominated the public debate. The 3-year-old environmental group negotiated the deal with the Irvine Co., persuaded the city to schedule the advisory vote and has begun a public campaign for support.

But an unlikely coalition of business owners, residents on fixed incomes and others has begun to mobilize an opposition campaign to head off the hefty tax that would be levied to pay for the acquisition.

“I think the conservancy already has a two-lap lead on us,” said Randy Johnson, a resident of Corona del Mar who is in the forefront of the opposition group called the Newport Taxpayers Alliance. “But as long as we get the information out, we won’t have any problem (persuading voters to reject the acquisition) . . . because the costs are enormous.”

If approved by at least 60% of voters, the city would create an assessment district that would assess homeowners $120 a year for 30 years. Apartment and mobile home owners would be assessed $102 a unit and commercial property owners $60 per 1,000 square feet. The money would be used to purchase and maintain the Upper and Lower Castaways and Newporter North parcels.

If voters reject the measure, the Irvine Co. would build 363 townhomes on the land, saving more than half of it for open space at no cost to taxpayers.

Councilmen John W. Hedges and Phil Sansone have already joined forces with Newport Taxpayers Alliance. The Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce, which has not yet taken an official position, is considering the same action.

At a Friday breakfast attended by about 100 business owners and conservancy supporters, Johnson and Vic Sherreitt, who is organizing the effort to oppose the land deal, debated Councilwoman Jean H. Watt, conservancy president, and Robert Shelton, who is masterminding the conservancy’s campaign.

One side sees the land acquisition as a way to preserve open space for future generations, while the other side sees it as a way to tax future generations for three decades.

Sherreitt told the gathering that the economic climate makes it difficult to ask 1,200 business owners in Newport Beach to ante up more than $1.3 million a year for the next 30 years. “The more information I got, the more concerned I became that this is a bad deal for Newport Beach,” Sherreitt said.

Watt chided the opposition for concentrating on money while virtually ignoring the long-term benefits.

“I want to give something that is lasting and nurturing to the community,” Watt said, adding that the $120 annual assessment on owners of single-family houses is “equivalent to a six-pack (of beer) per month.”